Jul. 30—Lobo basketball got a lot better this week, and it has nothing to do with anything happening in practices.
Tuesday, the Journal confirmed that 22-year-old Tomislav Buljan, a 6-foot-9 power forward/center from Croatia, has been cleared by the NCAA to play this coming season for UNM and first-year head coach Eric Olen.
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It will, however, be the only year of eligibility he will have to play for UNM due to his having played at a professional level the past several years, including leading the Croatian Premier League in rebounding last season. Compensation received in that process was at the center of the appeal for his eligibility, and the reason for not having a full four seasons of eligibility, though the Journal has not been given any specific details of the NCAA’s ruling.
UNM has not made a public announcement of the NCAA’s decision.
Buljan has been practicing with the Lobos for the past few weeks.
Technically, the 22-year-old Buljan is part of a five-man freshman recruiting class for the Lobos, with three more traditional, domestic recruits out of American high schools — 6-4 Jake Hall (Carlsbad, California), 5-11 Uriah Tenette (Prescott, Airzona) and 6-4 Sir Marius Jones (Sacramento, California) — and another international player in 6-8 Timeo Pons (Nanterre, France).
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Guard Kallai Patton (Murrietta, California) is a redshirt freshman, but did attend USC last year and was a part of the 2024 recruiting class.
Most recently, Buljan averaged 13.0 points, a league-best 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game for Cedevita Junior in Zagreb, Croatia. Cedevita finished in third place this past season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs.
French connection
Buljan is hardly the only Lobo of international descent. In fact, he’s not even the only late-arriving freshman from another country.
While Buljan arrived in Albuquerque earlier this month, Pons arrived late last week from France after having competed for France’s U19 team in the FIBA Basketball U19 World Cup.
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Pons, like Buljan, is practicing with the team.
Schedule
UNM this year is releasing, one at a time, nonconference games on social media once they are scheduled and then updating the information on GoLobos.com website under Men’s Basketball News.
Between GoLobos.com and Journal sources, the following are the preseason games known, to date:
Preseason: Lobo Howl in the Pit (date not yet announced, free to public)
Preseason: Closed-door scrimmage at Santa Clara (date unknown)
Preseason: Exhibition game in the Pit vs. Northern Arizona University (Oct. 30, 7 p.m.)
Nov. 5: Season opener in the Pit vs. East Texas A&M (Southland Conference, formerly Texas A&M-Commerce)
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November: At New Mexico State (date not officially announced, though expected to be in November)
Nov. 20: vs. Nebraska in Kansas City (Game 1 of 2 in the Hall of Fame Classic)
Nov. 21: vs. either Kansas State or Mississippi State in Kansas City (Game 2 of 2 in the Hall of Fame Classic)
Nov. 26: vs. Alabama State in the Pit
TBD: at VCU (the second half of a home-and-home series that brought VCU to the Pit this past season)
Other news and notes…
Former Lobo big man Morris Udeze has signed a new pro contract with BC Andorra in Spain’s Liga ACB and in Euro Cup competition.
Udeze most recently played for the Fukushima Firebonds in Japan’s B2 League, averaging 17.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
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With summer practices wrapping up this week at UNM, point guard Deyton Albury, the Utah State transfer, will be heading home to the Bahamas where he is hosting the two-day “Ballhead Elite Basketball Camp” on Saturday and Sunday in Nassau.
After committing to UNM, Albury told the Journal:
“Bahamas basketball has came a long way and we are continuing to grow. It’s just sad because we have a lot of talent, but no one to watch us. But once my career is over I plan to change Bahamas basketball and make us undeniable for coaches around the world to see our talent and give us opportunities because it’s all the young kids need.”
Former Lobo center Alex Kirk joined the Journal’s “What’s up in 5:05” podcast — sports stories told in 5 minutes, 5 seconds.
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Kirk, the 7-footer from Los Alamos who graduated from UNM in 2014 before playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA and internationally since then, is now married, has a 1-year-old son and continues to play professionally in Japan.
